Kopitiam making way for tunnel

Source : The Strait Times, 17 September 2007

THE popular 24-hour Kopitiam at the junction of MacPherson Road and Tai Thong Crescent will roll down its shutters for good after Sunday.

Parts of the Jackson Centre will be torn down, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA), to build a tunnel from MacPherson Road to Bendemeer Road. The tunnel is part of the upgrading of the Woodsville Interchange to improve traffic flow in the area.

The Kopitiam MacPherson at Jackson Centre has been a popular eating spot for the past decade or so, with 30 hawker stalls at its peak.

But when The Straits Times visited the place last week, only 16 stalls were open.

Hawkers interviewed said about half the stalls had vacated the Jackson Centre ahead of its last day of business on Sunday.

Some of the hawkers are moving to other Kopitiam outlets while others have moved to coffee shops near the Jackson Centre.

However, hawkers like Mr Francis Yeo, who runs the Tian Jin Hai Seafood stall at the centre, are sad to go.

For one thing, the Jackson Centre is where Mr Yeo made a 'comeback'. He lost $2 million running a restaurant in Ulu Pandan previously, but rebuilt his business since setting up shop at the Jackson Centre 10 years ago.

The Kopitiam MacPherson at Jackson Centre occupies the first level of the former MacPherson Road Market, built in the 1950s. In 1990, the market closed down and two years later, the Kopitiam group started a 24-hour coffee shop there.

Construction work on the Woodsville Interchange, located at the intersection of Serangoon, Upper Serangoon, MacPherson and Bendemeer roads with connecting slip roads to and from the Pan-Island Expressway, is slated to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

Three new tunnels and a flyover will be built.